2003 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500

Race details
Race 33 of 36 in the2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
The 2003 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 program cover.
Date	October 26–27 2003
Official name	44th Annual Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500
Location	Hampton, Georgia,Atlanta Motor Speedway
Course	Permanent racing facility
Course length	1.54 miles (2.48 km)
Distance	325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
Scheduled distance	325 laps, 500.5 mi (805.476 km)
Average speed	127.769 miles per hour (205.624 km/h)
Pole position
Driver	Ryan Newman	Penske Racing South
Time	28.534
Most laps led
Driver	Tony Stewart	Joe Gibbs Racing
Laps	109
Winner
No. 24	Jeff Gordon	Hendrick Motorsports
Television in the United States
Network	NBC (Sunday)TNT (Monday)
Announcers	Allen Bestwick,Benny Parsons,Wally Dallenbach Jr.
Radio in the United States
Radio	Performance Racing Network

The2003 Bass Pro Shops MBNA 500 was the 33rdstock car race of the2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season and the forty-fourth iteration of theevent. The race was held over two days from Sunday, October 26, 2003, to Monday, October 27 due to rain on lap 39 on Sunday, forcing the delay of the event.^[1] The race was held inHampton, Georgia atAtlanta Motor Speedway, a 1.54 miles (2.48 km) permanent asphalt quad-oval intermediate speedway. The race took the scheduled 325 laps to complete. At race's end,Hendrick Motorsports driverJeff Gordon would win under caution when with three laps to go,Dale Earnhardt Jr. bumpedRyan Newman into the wall.^[2] The win was Gordon's 64th careerNASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his third of the season. To fill out the podium,Tony Stewart ofJoe Gibbs Racing andJimmie Johnson ofHendrick Motorsports would finish second and third, respectively.

Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerlyAtlanta International Raceway) is a track inHampton, Georgia, 20 miles (32 km) south ofAtlanta. It is a 1.54-mile (2.48 km) quad-oval track with aseating capacity of 111,000. It opened in 1960 as a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) standard oval. In 1994, 46condominiums were built over the northeastern side of the track. In 1997, to standardize the track with Speedway Motorsports' other two 1.5-mile (2.4 km) ovals, the entire track was almost completely rebuilt. The frontstretch and backstretch were swapped, and the configuration of the track was changed from oval to quad-oval. The project made the track one of the fastest on theNASCAR circuit.

*Withdrew.^[3]

The first practice session was held on Friday, October 24, at 3:20 PMEST, and would last for 2 hours.^[3]Ryan Newman ofPenske Racing South would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 28.688 and an average speed of 193.251 miles per hour (311.007 km/h).^[4]

The second practice session was held on Saturday, October 25, at 9:30 AMEST, and would last for 45 minutes.^[3]Kevin Harvick ofRichard Childress Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.218 and an average speed of 189.746 miles per hour (305.367 km/h).^[5]

The third and final practice session, sometimes referred to as Happy Hour, was held on Saturday, October 25, at 11:10 AMEST, and would last for 45 minutes.^[3]Kurt Busch ofRoush Racing would set the fastest time in the session, with a lap of 29.600 and an average speed of 187.297 miles per hour (301.425 km/h).^[6]

Qualifying was held on Friday, October 24, at 7:05 PMEST. Each driver would have two laps to set a fastest time; the fastest of the two would count as their official qualifying lap.^[3] Positions 1-36 would be decided on time, while positions 37-43 would be based on provisionals. Six spots are awarded by the use of provisionals based on owner's points. The seventh is awarded to a past champion who has not otherwise qualified for the race. If no past champ needs the provisional, the next team in the owner points will be awarded a provisional.^[7]

Ryan Newman ofPenske Racing South would win the pole, setting a time of 29.938 and an average speed of 180.373 miles per hour (290.282 km/h).^[8]

Six drivers would fail to qualify:Jeff Green,Buckshot Jones,Larry Foyt,Mike Wallace,Billy Bigley, andShelby Howard.

• 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
• NASCAR races at Atlanta Motor Speedway
• October 2003 sports events in the United States
• 2003 in sports in Georgia (U.S. state)

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